The Return of 10,000 Suns
Landscape Architecture Critic Adam E. Anderson MLA 12 transformed a vacant urban lot in Providence into a place of beauty and respite.
09/21/2017
Landscape Architecture Critic Adam E. Anderson MLA 12 has once again transformed a vacant urban lot on the southern edge of RISD’s campus into a glorious dreamscape. Building on the success of Ten Thousand Suns 2016, he raised more than $6,000 via a spring Kickstarter campaign to buy sunflower seeds, compost and the materials needed to create a temporary irrigation system.
Planting and tending the garden was a four-month labor of love Anderson led with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers, including students, local artists and neighborhood residents. In addition to creating a welcoming space where people can connect with nature, the sunflowers remove toxins from the soil, which until recently was directly beneath the I-195 highway overpass.
“Seeing people find joy in a simple flower… and helping to cultivate the idea evoked a new appreciation for what the urban landscape in Providence can be.”
“Seeing people find joy in a simple flower… and helping to cultivate the idea evoked a new appreciation for what the urban landscape in Providence can be,” says Anderson. “It raised our expectations for quality, site-sensitive development that will one day be built on this land.”
As part of DESIGN WEEK RI, Anderson is leading a talk about the project among the flowers this Sunday, September 17, at 5:30 pm.
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